Forge Your Own Fate
by KhorneOnTheCob
Summary: Somehow, being warped to a world with deadly mythical creatures wasn't the worst case scenario. At least the 'goblins' here are less of a threat.
1. I - Lost Light

"Why are we here again?" A voice, feminine, mechanical, and heard only by one other being, said.

"Because someone said they noticed some weird Vex activity." Another voice, masculine, and also synthetic sounding, said.

The first sighed. "Fair," she said, "but why are we here _alone_, then?"

"Because every other Guardian is on the other side of Mercury right now," he said. "Besides, I feel like I can take a few Vex on my own. So long as I keep the 'Taurs out of smack distance."

Guardians. Wielders of light, defenders of humanity, and protectors of the Last Safe City of Earth. Amongst them were the steadfast Titans, the wise Warlocks, and the roguish Hunters, each of which held their duty in their own ways. But right now, where wisdom and sternness might have been most useful, there was none to be found. For this Guardian was a Hunter, and Hunters were known, somewhat stereotypically, to be very gung-ho with how they went about things.

And this Hunter was entirely fine with perpetuating stereotypes.

So onwards he marched through the cave, his Huckleberry out, and Subtle Calamity and Hammerhead ready to come out if he needed them. But the first thing he noted was the lack of Vex present. The signs were there, of course; the repeated cuboid rock structures, the metal rings, the Vex Milk, all told him the Vex were here at one point. And his Ghost had been clear about sensing Vex activity around, and she wasn't often wrong. But he didn't see any Vex units, themselves. Neither Goblins, hob or otherwise, nor Harpies, Minotaurs, Hydras, or any other Vex type.

The Hunter was reasonably confused. "Uh, Ghost, I thought you said-"

"I know what I said!" Ghost said, cutting him off, and coming out into the world. She was a mechanical being, with a shell made from gray and gold triangular figures encompassing an eye-like sphere. "You know how weird the Vex can be with Guardians. They might not be here now, but they'll show up eventually. For now, let's try and find what they were doing here."

Nodding, the Hunter began to search around, while Ghost scanned every construct that looked suspicious to her. Considering this was Vex territory, that meant everything that wasn't made from rock, and some things that were, but the point still stood. For ten minutes, this went on, with not one interruption from the Vex occurring, until they found something.

A pillar of hardlight and physical data came from the ground, next to one of the largest warp gates they had ever seen. Bigger, even, than the ones near where Vance was holed up at. Why no Vex were near this was absurd, yet obviously they were at one point. "Ghost, scan that Conflux, see what's up with this. This seems big, and not just in the literal sense. And, uh, call for backup."

"Already tried to," she responded. "Something's blocking my signal, so I can't get any transmissions out. We could leave this cave, and try again outside it, but we're far from any transmat locations, so it could be a few hours of waiting. But you obviously don't want to wait, do you?"

"No, I don't," he said. "If we leave, the Vex might time warp this thing into the far future, and we'll lose this thing for years."

"I'm not sure if they can do that."

"There's nothing that says they can't." Ghost, admittedly, couldn't argue against that. "We're already in the belly of the beast, so let's kick this hornets' nest." With as close to a nod as a floating mass of geometry can give, Ghost went to the Conflux, and began 'hacking' it, trying to figure out where this gate might lead to.

As if on cue, clouds of smoke and electricity suddenly surrounded them, and dozens of Vex units began to drop from them. Equally as suddenly, the warp gate crackled to life, glowing a purple light at its center. At the first shot, the Hunter rolled out of the way, grabbing his Ghost as he did, breaking her hacking attempt.

"Ghost!" he yelled, pulling out Hammerhead and raining void laced firepower down into the Vex. "Did you figure out anything about this gate?"

"Before you grabbed me?" she said from within him. "Not much, but I do no that it will send us to some random planet in unknown space and time."

The Hunter let out a very (un)manly yelp as several Minotaur came within smack distance. He dodged one, only to be hit by another, reminding himself why he hated specifically these types of Vex. He retaliated as he knew how to best: with a punch of his own, fueled by Arc energy. The 'Taur disintegrated as the lightning ate away at it, something the Hunter couldn't appreciate as he continued running, firing at the Vex as they appeared. And they never stopped appearing, as it seemed for every one he killed, ten more took its place.

"What are the chances of wherever we go being worse than right here?" he said once he was behind cover, now having to reload his machine gun.

"It's pretty likely, actually," Ghost said. "It could drop us into the middle of a Hive Ritual, another Fallen nightclub, or anywhere else, really."

"Those are better odds than I had imagined, then." With that, the Hunter let Arc energy course throughout himself, covering him in a glowing blue light, before he summoned a staff of pure lightning. Then, he ran towards the gate, cutting a swathe through the Vex as he did. He knew that for every strike he performed, was another few seconds he could keep this up, but that mattered little compared to him. He just needed this to get him close to the gate. And once he had, he unhesitantly leapt through, and hoped for the best.

* * *

This was not the first time the Hunter had gone through a warp gate. They were littered just about any place that the Vex had ever come to, in both active and inactive states. Usually, going through one was very much like transmatting to and from his ship. Just a sudden shift of where he was to where he will be, with a brief moment of minor blindness and deafness to compensate. Nothing too stressful to think of. This was no different, really.

He was just unused to them taking this long.

Once more, he waited. This, too, he wasn't entirely used to, waiting constantly. He realized it was his impatience that had gotten him into this mess, and alone, no less, but who could blame him? That was all a part of his Hunter charm. Besides, he had asked some of his clanmates to come on this patrol with him, but they all refused, so it wasn't completely his fault. That's what he told himself, at least.

Suddenly, sight and hearing returned to him, and he fell, landing on a patch of green grass. He looked up, both to see what was around him at the moment, and to see if anyone noticed his un-Hunterly pratfall. He saw a clear, grassy field, and no one who could have noticed this. Good on all parts: both he and his ego were safe from attack.

Standing, he dusted himself off, and made sure that his cloak was still intact; intact as it could be, at least. The black and white cloak was old, but it had been there when he had first risen, and though it was tattered, he felt it important to him. "Ghost, where are we?"

A moment of verbal silence followed, as he heard the mechanical sounds of his Ghost at work. "I… don't know. This looks like an Earth forest, but I can't find anything that would say we're actually on Earth. I can't even find other signals to transmit to. Nothing Fallen, Cabal, Vex, not even Hive."

"So Earth, but not _Earth_," he said. "Alright, this isn't the weirdest thing to happen to us. Is there anything you can find?"

Another brief pause. "Nothing notable, sorry. So, if you want to find something, you'll need to get to exploring. But, you'll have to do it on foot; I can't connect to our ship, which means I can't transmat your Sparrow here."

The Hunter groaned, but didn't say anything in complaint. Instead, he pulled out The Huckleberry, happy that what weapons he had equipped were still with him, and began to head to wherever this place was.

* * *

It was an hour of uneventful jogging before he found something. Not a town, sadly, but a person, about to enter a cave. He… She… They (the armor the person was wearing didn't give much idea to gender) looked to be human, something that surprised the Hunter, but wearing what looked like old, medieval armor, and carrying a sword, further evidence that this wasn't his Earth. The Hunter ran up to the person, catching their attention and causing them to turn his way.

"Hey, I got a question for you," he began. "Do you know where the nearest town is from here? I'm kinda lost, here, you see."

The person pointed out, directly away from the cave. "4 miles west." He was curt, and his voice deep even ignoring the reverb from his helmet.

"Thank you… what's your name?"

"Goblin Slayer."

"...Then I'm Hunter, I suppose." Though the other man couldn't see it, Hunter and his Ghost was taken aback by this. Firstly, that was a weird name; seriously, who names their kid something like that? Secondly, this normal looking human could kill Vex? Well enough, at that, to get a title like that? Sure, the goblins weren't the toughest the Vex had to offer, but that was still impressive. "And I'm gonna guess that you're going in there to slay some gobbos, right?"

"Yes," Goblin Slayer said, succinctly.

"Then count me in," Hunter said. "I've got a bit of a bone to pick with them. And don't even try to say no, because I can guarantee I've killed more of them than you have."

Goblin Slayer looked at Hunter silently, then just went to walk into the cave, the Guardian gleefully following him. "So how do you think he does it, Guardian?" Ghost said. "Maybe his sword is special, like Bolt-Caster or Raze-Lighter!"

"If he has one of those swords," he said out loud, not caring that Goblin Slayer could hear him, "I'd be amazed. And a little annoyed, because those took way too long to make. I spend a week forging it, and he just finds one lying around? I call foul." As they went further into the cave, the darker it became, forcing Ghost to come out, lighting the area up. Goblin Slayer, a man they could tell was quite serious with everything he did, wordlessly stared for a second when he looked back and saw her, before looking back ahead.

As they walked, Hunter noted that his radar was tracking quite a few entities, the red blips getting closer by the second, until one was directly behind him. He turned around to fire, but instead of the tall, metal being he was used to, a little green thrall was raising a dagger to stab him. That moment of confusion was all it took for the thing to bring the blade forward. However, though it didn't hit the armor, it couldn't go through the Light barrier that surrounded him. Instead it glanced off of him, and more annoyed him than anything else.

He shot it in the head, killing the creature instantly. He was happy for Huckleberry's somewhat silent firing, and its special perk at seeing the bullet he had just fired be reimbursed. That was gonna be useful until he got enough glimmer to make more ammo, especially considering how little glimmer that kill was able to convert to. When he turned back around, Goblin Slayer was looking back at him. "I'll be fine," he said, walking forwards, Ghost closely behind him. Then he heard a multitude of warbly cries. Apparently The Huckleberry wasn't as silent as he thought. "I alerted more, didn't I? Alright, I got this direction, you get the other."

He had all of two seconds to wait before more Mini-Thralls came running. Then, he pulled the trigger, and began his slaughter, every other kill spawning a small orb of light that coalesced within itself. It was a little like the last firefight he was in, but these were a degree simpler to kill than the Vex. "How're you holding up back there?" he asked, tossing a skip grenade down his side before looking back to see a far larger version of the green things he was shooting coming from that direction. Still firing down his path, knowing he was killing something from his ammo counter refilling, he waited until it got closer. Once it got to where he liked it, he jumped up and punched it in the face, letting Arc energy course through the hit and vaporizing the Cabal wannabe. Then, he went back to shooting, throwing grenades and switching sides whenever he needed to.

The battle, however, didn't last as long as Hunter was secretly hoping it would, as less than two minutes later, no more of the green things were left. He wasn't counting how many kills he got, so he just left it at a lot. "Well then," he said. "Now that that's over, let's go find those Goblins you were looking for!"

"These are goblins." He was soaking a cloth in their blood, now, and began wiping his armor with it.

"No they're not," both Guardian and Ghost said at the same time, ignoring how weird whatever their companion was doing was. Ghost then continued alone. "Goblins are human sized, metal death machines. These are small, green Thralls. I thought your name was Goblin Slayer; how can you not know what a Goblin looks like? These aren't even a type of Vex!"

'Goblin' Slayer silently stared once more at the pair, then continued down through the cave. Hunter still followed him, in hopes of finding some _real_ Goblins to shoot. He had some stress to work out.

* * *

The trio did not find any real Goblins, or any more of the 'goblins' within the rest of the cave. They did find somewhat fresh human corpses, which gave credence to the idea that there were no Vex around. The Vex hardly ever cared about humans that weren't Guardians, or otherwise Light-touched. Even then, what they saw was far too messy for how the Vex usually worked. Even further, now that they had left the cave, Hunter realized there were no signs of Vex activity anywhere. Of course, he wasn't going to voice his concerns.

He just waited for Ghost to do that.

"So, what were those things, really?" Ghost asked, right on schedule.

"Goblins."

"Sure," she said. "And what about the big one?"

"A hobgoblin." Goblin Slayer was proving to be a great conversation partner to the both of them.

Before she could get any more annoyed, Hunter stopped her. "Ghost, I think he's being serious."

Her shell twisted in defeat. "I'm starting to realize that. It's just strange to think that there are other things that have the same names as what we know. Though, I feel like the Vex would be insulted to share anything with those things." Hunter nodded at that. Calling those green things 'Goblins' and 'Hobgoblins' felt wrong, but if that's what they were called, he'll just have to get over it. If nothing else, it meant an easier life for him.

"Hey GS," he said. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Frontier Town."

Hunter almost said something about that name. Then he remembered what city he was a defender of, and suddenly felt that he couldn't say much about it. "Lead the way, then." Of course, he had no idea what was ahead of him. All he knew was that he was going to work with whatever was thrown at him, and he was going to come out on top because, or in spite of it. Because he was a Guardian, and to them, there was no such thing as destiny.

Because to be a Guardian, meant to forge your own fate.


	2. II - A New Frontier

When the trio reached the Frontier, it was late afternoon, and Hunter and Ghost realized how familiar this was to them. A city out in the wilds, built as a symbol for the future. Admittedly, this wasn't the only city that still existed - they knew of a Water Town and a capital, at least - but the point still stood. From here, they were to head to the Adventurer's Guild, to get Goblin Slayer's payment for this job. This, too, reminded him of the Last City, when he would do bounties for the Vanguard and anyone else offering them up.

Once they entered the building, Hunter was surprised not so much by how many people were here, but by how many young faces he saw. Some of these adventurers couldn't have been older than 20, and even that seemed to be pushing it. Sure, when he thought about it, he wasn't much older than 12 in his newly given life, but that was entirely different.

"Goblin Slayer!" a woman at the front desk called out. "You're back! And you've brought someone new with you. Excuse me, but I will be able to help you later; first, I must get Goblin Slayer's mission report."

"S'alright," Hunter said. "Technically, this isn't that new to me." At her understanding look, he found an empty table, and began checking his weaponry. He set The Huckleberry, Subtle Calamity, and Hammerhead onto the table. This was all that he had with him, so he needed to make sure that these were in good condition, and that he had proper munitions for all of them.

He knew The Huckleberry was fine, what with how much he had just used it, so he set that aside. He took to Subtle Calamity, next. The polymer bowstring wasn't likely to snap anytime soon, but he would have to make sure to grab any arrow he fired for now. He still had 70 of them, so they would last, but he doubted he would find someone who could make these, at least not at the quality he wanted. Hammerhead was literally the biggest issue he realized, making sure the weapon's systems still functioned. It was the gun he had used against the Vex when he got into this mess, and he had used one magazine then. He only had three magazines left, and while he figured he wouldn't need to use it much, he also figured he would want more if ever he _really _needed to use it.

He stored his bow and machine gun, and just in time for Goblin Slayer to come over to his table, and drop a sack of what he assumed was money on it. "Here is your cut."

"Thank you," Hunter said, grabbing the pouch, then looked inside to find five gold and three silver coins. When he looked up, he noticed that many other sets of eyes were on him. Unsure and somewhat uncaring if was because of his weapons or his talking to Goblin Slayer, he stood, and went back to the receptionist. "So, introductions. Hey, I'm Hunter, if tall and broody didn't tell you. Well, technically I'm Hunter-9, but that's a_ very _long explanation."

She smiled at him. "Then, hello. I'm Guild Girl, and yes, Goblin Slayer has told me who you are. From what he said, you actually did most of the work for his quest."

"Yeah." He puffed up at the (unneeded) ego boost. "He told me that he was hunting Goblins, and due to some very recent annoyances, I wanted in. But there weren't any Goblins, just these annoying little green things." He then looked to see if Goblin Slayer was around, and seeing that he was away for now, he leaned in. "Be honest with me, what are those things called?"

Guild Girl was visibly confused at this. "Those… are goblins. Are they called something else in your language?"

"You had to ask, huh?" Ghost's words oozed snark, made only more poignant from them being from within his head than from without. "At least this tells us the Vex might not exist here, even though they sent _us_ here."

"Let's go with that, yeah," Hunter answered. "So, onto business. How do I go about joining the Guild?"

Guild Girl's more natural smile came back as she pulled out a blocked sheet. "Just fill this out, and you'll be an official adventurer! Can you read and write?"

"I should hope so," Hunter joked, and set to writing out his information.

* * *

20 minutes later, the sheet was complete, as far as Hunter knew. He had to lie about his age, as while he knew how long he had been a Guardian, he wasn't sure they'd allow him in at that age, and he wasn't sure how old he literally was, so he went with 24. Beyond that, everything was truthful.

"So. 24 years old, and a Hunter-Guardian?" Guild Girl asked, reading off his sheet. "And your race is… Exo?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Hunter responded. "Like I said, just call me Hunter. And, if you don't know what an Exo is…" Hunter dropped his hood, and removed his helmet, revealing a white and orange head resembling a reaper's skull, with glowing blue eyes. Guild Girl gasped at his visage, a reaction he expected. "Just to get you used to seeing it. Don't worry, I'm actually one of the nicer, and better looking Guardians."

She did regain some of her composure, eventually. "Others are still looking," Ghost noted to him. This, too, was fine.

"You're a… golem?"

"No, I'm an Exo," he said, confused. "I don't even know what a golem is, so how could I be one?"

"That's… well then." Wanting to ignore that conversation, she handed him what looked like a dog tag, with 'Adventurer's Guild' written on it. "This marks you as a porcelain-ranked adventurer, and allows you to take porcelain-ranked quests. This is the lowest of ten ranks, with obsidian being next, then steel, sapphire, emerald, ruby, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. You won't find many gold or platinum-ranked adventurers out and about, though."

"Cool," he said, then scoped out Goblin Slayer. "What rank's GS?"

"Goblin Slayer is a silver-rank." If Hunter could show shock on his face, he would've. "And yes, he got to that rank only taking goblin related quests. He hasn't told anyone why he does that, but I can't imagine it's a pleasant tale."

Considering how a lot of Guardians acted after the Red Legion attacked the City, he at least understood that. Some of them - even Saladin's Young Wolf, for a time - refused to indulge Emperor Calus. "I can't either," was all he could say.

Guild Girl took note of the sudden melancholy, but decided against mentioning it. "Anyway, all porcelain ranked quests are taken, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find a quest you can take."

"Ah, that's fine," he sighed, his slump quickly leaving. "It's been a long day for me, even before I met Goblin Slayer. I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna get some sleep, probably."

"You need to sleep?" Guild Girl whispered under her breath. Hunter still heard her, but he was appreciative that she was smart enough to question that, and not brazen enough to just say he didn't need it. "Then, you'll need this, too." She handed him a key, to room number 7.

The Hunter didn't actually think he would get a room, but he was glad he did. "Thank you, Double G, and good night."

As he went to his new room, his Ghost began to speak to him. "You're not really going to sleep again, are you? Four resets ago, you told me not to let you sleep, because almost every time you did, you went to the Deep Stone Crypt. Now you're going to ignore that?"

"Ghost." She came out from him once he shut the door to his room. "I was being serious when I said I was tired. You must have noticed that the Light isn't as strong here as in the Sol System. It's present, but not like how we're used to."

"I…" Ghost tried to say otherwise, but she knew she was just denying the truth. "Yes, I have noticed. It's strong enough for me to revive you if anything actually kills you, but even compared to Oryx's Dreadnought, this is nothing. I just… I don't want to see you go through that again. Even if you hadn't made me make that promise, I wouldn't want that."

The Hunter laid down on his bed, looking up at his Ghost hovering over him. "Then I'm sorry for making you break your promise. I'll make it up to you somehow." Then, he let his nerves calm, beginning the process of going into sleep mode.

* * *

The Hunter was surprised when he suddenly woke up in the morning. He had guessed that he would go through his old night terrors, yet his sleep was quiet. Admittedly, he had nothing to compare it to, but most of the records that Hunters' 1 through 5 kept told him that it was rare not to go to the Crypt. He wasn't going to complain, though; he just disappointed after how much he had heard of it, and to not see it.

Either way, he felt better now. He was nowhere near as tired as he had been the day before, and hoped he would stay like that for a while. "Ghost?"

"Yes, Hunter? How was your rest?" She didn't _need _to ask about how his sleep was. She could literally feel it, and even if she couldn't, she could tell from his attitude. It was more the courtesy of it.

"Fine, thanks," he answered. "How long was I out for?"

"Close to ten hours," she said. "Far longer than you used to sleep for. The sun's only just started to rise, so I doubt any quests that you can take are posted, yet."

"You know, that's gonna get kind of annoying." he groaned. "I understand why they have to do it, though. It looks bad if new recruits are dropping like flies because they take jobs that are obviously too dangerous for them. Then no major players come out of the place, and their reputation falls like a Cabal Drop Pod."

"I would have said that it would be a senseless waste of life," she said, "but that works too, I suppose. So, Kinderguardian, what are you going to do while you wait?"

The Hunter scoffed. "First off, that hurt. Second off, I'm getting some food. I haven't eaten in days, and if I'm getting tired here, I'm gonna need all the energy I can get." And out he went, to the tavern, and to the same table where he had checked his weapons. There were already people here, many of them already eating with their own groups, to no real surprise to him. He set his helmet under the table, interlocked his fingers and sat back. He knew for a fact that he needed to find a way back to the Sol System, and from there, the Tower. Sure, he wasn't THE Guardian, but he was still a Guardian, and while they seemed to be getting new recruits daily, veterans were still needed to do the hard work, and prep the newbies for when they would have to do the same.

But then, that was even implying there _was _a way back. He could find a ship, as unlikely as that was, but he didn't know where, or worse yet, _when _he was compared to Earth as he knew it. He could find another Vex warp gate, but messing with those was what got him into this mess in the first place, so that already seemed like a bad idea. And yet, finding it that meant the Vex were here, and he wasn't sure he could leave these people with that on his conscience. Least likely, he could find another surviving Ahamkara, and hope the Wish-Dragon didn't screw him with some kind of mind-reading _true wish _shenanigans, or 'exact wording' loopholes. But, while he had never met Riven, despite how often Guardians were sent to rekill her and perhaps break the Last Wish, those who came back always told of how much pain she could do within that time. He wasn't sure he was prepared to deal with that - not alone, at least.

With all of this in mind, he couldn't think of a way to make his way home that actually made sense. The only thing he could think of that lacked any possible horrible happenings was another Guardian _somehow _finding him on this planet, but that could take years, if he was lucky.

"Guardian, get out of Dreamland, someone's coming," Ghost informed him, breaking him from his thoughts. He looked around, trying to seem casual, and not like someone just told him something, until he spotted a human woman in a waitress uniform coming his way. At first, she looked like nothing special, just one of the staff that worked here.

Then he noticed the pair of decidedly nonhuman ears sprouting from the top of her head. And the paws for hands. And her tail. She looked like a cross between a wolf and a human; of course, he'd never seen a real wolf, only depictions, so he couldn't be sure. Still, the resemblance was uncanny.

"Welcome, sir!" she said, cheerily. "Have you decided on what you would like to order?"

Hunter glanced down to see, somewhat embarrassingly, there was a menu on his table that he had noticed. So, he went basic. "Toast and eggs, boiled. And water."

"You got it, sir!" Her sunny mood was actually taking him out of his own dour mood. He decided he'd figure out his conundrum later. It wouldn't do him well for his mind to be stuck on possibilities for too long. It meant he could be caught unawares by the present happenings.

"Yo, new guy." Like now, as he hadn't even noticed this new person come towards him. He jumped a little in shock, something he knew amused Ghost to no end, before he went to address this arrival: a man in blue and gold armor, carrying a spear. "So you're the guy that Goblin Slayer came in with yesterday. What was it that you said you were - an 'Exo'?"

"Got it in one," Hunter said. "Technically, I'm still human, just dumped into a metal frame; I can still do all the things that any other human can. Like, for instance, eat and sleep. But, before I start spilling all of my nonexistent guts, I feel like some names are in order. I'm Hunter, Guardian veteran. And you might be?" He realized that these past two days was the most he had ever formally introduced himself in years. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Spearman, the strongest silver-rank on the Frontier!" The amount of confidence was befitting of a Hunter, for sure. But if he was silver, perhaps he had earned it. He looked ready to start speaking again, but then the waitress came by.

"Here you go, sir," she said, setting his plate down and a cup of water down. "I hope you enjoy it! I want to leave a good impression for a new face!"

"Thank you," he said, and flipped her a gold coin from his pouch. "Keep the change. That much cheer this early is deserving of a Guardian's pride." It was obvious she had no idea what that meant, but she took the compliment anyway, leaving with a smile.

"You know that's a lot for this, right?" Spearman said. "Eggs, bacon, and bread is usually four silver, here."

"Well one," Hunter began, "I didn't know that. Two, like I said, Guardian's pride. I've known people who'd rather kill themselves then even pretend to be this happy this early. Three, well, I don't remember ordering bacon, and yet there it is, cooling on my plate. That, especially, is deserving of a tip."

"What's a Guardian, anyway?" Spearman asked, to no surprise to Hunter. "Is that a guild you used to work with? And I'm guessing it's where you got your weapons, too."

"Let's go with that," Hunter said, beginning the surreal action of eating as an Exo. Too surreal even to properly describe, or to really call 'eating', but it was close enough. "I got enough experience from them to fight, at least. So, when do bounties get posted for the day? If I'm gonna be an Adventurer, I need to do some adventures, I feel."

"Not too long from now," he began. "But shouldn't you be looking for a party? It builds good relations for later, and you rookies need to stick together if you don't want to die on your first quest."

Hunter chuckled at that. "While I appreciate the concern, I think it's been established that I'm no rookie. But, that does make sense; I get to help actual rookies stay safe, and I can train others to my standards. Yeah, actually, that's a pretty good idea. Now, just gotta find some other porcelains, and work a bit of my charm..."

"Those two look like they could use another member," Spearman mentioned, helpfully pointing the two out. What Hunter saw was uncanny, to him: a powerfully built girl in inexpensive-looking armor, handling a sheathed claymore and short sword, and a far scrawnier boy in blue robes, carrying a staff. Clearly, these were a warrior and a wizard, respectively, but to him, this was like looking at Old-Earth versions of a Titan and Warlock. It was almost _too _familiar, to the point of feeling orchestrated.

Ignoring that feeling, he decided he'd work with it, as he stood up, grabbed his helmet, and walked towards the two. They did a double-take as they saw his grim visage coming their way, but tried to put on a neutral expression. Hunter didn't necessarily mind, though; he knew how unnerving the Exo could look if you'd never heard about them.

"Hey," the girl said. "Are you coming to teach us something, or what? Just because we're only obsidian, doesn't mean we can't handle ourselves." Hunter was, at first, confused. Then, he realized that, with his armor shaded in Precursor Vex Chrome, and his three weapons, one of which was literally gold plated, he looked like he was a veteran to these two. He supposed he was, technically, but right now, he was their junior.

"Actually, I'm a porcelain, and I'm looking for a fi-er, party, to run with."

They blinked at this, their befuddlement palpable, and all the same silent. "Oh," was all they said after a few seconds.

"If you don't want me around, I'm fine with that," he said. "I'll just go on, alone. I'll probably be fine."

"What, no!" the wizard exclaimed. "Porcelains shouldn't try and do missions alone! Too many of you have died like that."

"Cool, so I'm joining you two, then." Hunter left no time for debate, instead bending down and leaning an arm on their shoulder. "Besides, I heard that obsidian missions are a degree more exciting than porcelain ones. How am I supposed to strut my stuff when everything is dying too quickly? I'm Hunter, by the way."

As soon as he said that, Guild Girl stood from behind the front desk. "The quests for the day have officially been posted!"

The pair realized that there wasn't much they would be able to do to get Hunter to leave, certainly not before they could grab their own quest. Sighing, the wizard and warrior introduced themselves as 'Frost Mage' and 'Blade Master' respectively, and went to take their quest, neither of them understanding what they had just gotten themselves into.


	3. III - Journey

"You haven't told me what we're looking for, yet."

Hunter wasn't trying to be a nuisance to his new party members, of which there was a third person, a cleric, who wasn't with them at the moment. But some things just came naturally to him, much to the ire of his companions. This was just one of them, even if wasn't trying.

Upon exiting the Adventurers Guild with their quest, the Hunter made apparent his lack of knowledge of the monsters of the land as they were getting extra equipment. He wasn't too proud to admit that, despite how he looked, this was all (technically) new to him. Of course, the two-that-became-three didn't believe him, at least in part because of him being an adventurer. No one that they had known became one just on a whim, and certainly not without knowing what threats adventurers usually faced.

"There isn't a lot about monsters that I actually know," he had told them. And for what monsters the two of them knew, this was true. He had only recently learned what a goblin was, as far as this world was concerned. And, once more going through his thoughts, he realized that was somewhat his fault; a Warlock had once asked him if wanted to learn about Old Earth mythologies (because apparently, lots of names came from them), but he declined. This wasn't to say he didn't know some things about the topic; he knew too many Cryptarchs not to have learned such, willingly or not, and there weren't many Guardians who didn't know about Saladin wishing an Ahamkara into a dragon. He just didn't think he would need to know much more than he did, and as a Guardian, he hadn't.

But now, as an adventurer, he did. Which is why he was currently 'nose' deep inside of Frost Mage's 'Monster Manual' as he walked alongside his new party members. Many names he recognized as Vex units: minotaurs, gorgons, and cyclopes, to name a few. None looked anything like the ones he was used to, though. The dragon he saw matched the description of Saladin's wish, so there was that. Others, though, like cockatrices and mindflayers, were completely unknown to him.

"We," Blade Master began after some time, "are heading to a village, to deal with a griffon problem." She wasn't necessarily aggressive, but he had noted that she never spoke in what he would call a calming tone. "I hope you read about what those are. If you haven't, you should; it's a good idea to enter a fight knowing your opponent."

"I have, yeah," he said. "And thanks, for _finally _talking to me."

She huffed at that. "Well, if you're to be our new member, I at least want to warm up to you. But, don't worry about it. If you can prove you were worth it to bring, I think you'll be a good friend."

"Well, what about you?" he said to his other companion. "What, is Frosty too _cold_ to converse with me?" Blade Master snorted, and lowered her face into her hands. From the shaking of her shoulders, however, she was clearly trying to hold in her laughter, and failing miserably. Frost Mage glared at him, annoyed, and if Hunter could smile, he would have. As it was, all he could do was waggle his brow plate.

"Maybe the Vex sent us to an alternate universe," Ghost said, thinking about their situation throughout the exchange. "It would explain why this planet has humans, Earth-like gravity, and this many similar concepts. This book even _looks _similar to the one the Warlock had found, if more preserved." That all made sense to him. The Vex were known to be able to send people through time, even if they caused timeline discrepancies in the process. If nothing else, _that_ explained the twin moons, since he was pretty sure Earth never had more than one.

"Anyway, how long should it be before we're there?" he asked as he went back into the book.

"Another hour, maybe," Blade Master informed him.

At that very moment, Hunter knew he would make a Sparrow before anything else.

* * *

When they set foot into the village, they were greeted by many of the folk there, many scared out of their mind, only slightly less relieved that their bounty was answered. One walked up to them, however, likely the 'leader' of these people.

"Are you here to help us?" he said. "Please, these griffons have killed so much of our livestock, we need help!"

Blade Master held her hands up to him. "Calm down, sir. We just need to know where you think they went, and we can handle it from there."

"The last time they came," he said, pointing into the distance, "we saw them travel north. If you can, please bring back anything they took that's still alive. That was our livelihood they flew off with!"

"...Sure," she said, before walking off. Once they were far enough away, she spoke again. "Did he really just-"

"Yes he did," Frost Mage said, knowing what she meant. "And honestly, I doubt there'll be anything alive. Griffons only hunt when they're hungry, so unless these wanted to store food, the most we'll be bringing back are bones. Hunter, what do you think?"

"Did you know there's an entire monster in this that has every mention of its name blacked-out?"

"Wha…" Blade Master looked back to him, to see him still looking through the book. "Hunter! Were you even listening to anything he said?"

"Griffons came from the north and killed some cattle," he said succinctly. "He specifically said griffons, so there's at least two, but probably no more than 6; the manual said that's usually the largest griffon flocks are. But back on topic, you'd think something this unique would have its name all over. I mean, it has nine eyes! And it can do magic, too?"

"Stop reading the damn book!"

"Alright, alright, calm down." He handed the manual back to Frost Mage, who happily took it back. "But seriously, he didn't give us a number, so we should prepare for the worst. I assume you and Frosty have a plan for this?"

"My name is-!"

Blade Master cut him off. "Okay, maybe you do need to… _chill_. But first, the quest paper said that there would be three. Even then, six seems unlikely, even as a worst case. Next, yes, we have a plan. You think can take one of them, right?"

He pulled out Subtle Calamity and checked its sights, and once satisfied, nodded. "Unless they're too fast or armored like a dropship, I can hit them and kill them."

She didn't know what a dropship was, but she nodded. "Frost Mage, you know your part. Leave a casting for Featherfall, but otherwise, ground them. Now, let's go find them, and see about letting Hunter 'strut his stuff'."

"So how do you think this is going to go wrong?" Ghost asked. Of course, he figured that she would, and not without good reason. Any mission he went on had a bad habit of never being what he, or anyone else had originally assumed. Still, he thought, how off could those numbers be?

* * *

"Huh."

Hunter had to admit, this might have been his fault for testing it. They had spent another thirty minutes walking until they found the griffons. Hunter was, at first, annoyed by how undescriptive the manual's article on them was - specifically, how inexact it was about their size. Sure, it had mentioned them being bigger than a horse, but that meant nothing to someone who had never seen a horse. Then he noticed something which was a bit more prudent to the matter. While they were still grounded, there were _not _only two griffons, as was the minimum, nor were there any number between that and six.

There were nine.

"Well this is a problem," he said from the bushes he and his party were hiding within. "This makes me miss Gjallarhorn even more. So, any revisions to the plan, BM?"

She thought for a moment. "I feel like we should go and get backup, really. Unless you have any tricks up your sleeve for this?"

"Actually, yes." The surprised look on both of their faces was fun to look at for Hunter. "But, considering that they can fly, it might not be as effective as I would want it to be. I have something that could at least soften them up, though…"

He looked for the largest grouping of them, then nodded and pointed them out. "I'll deal with those four. Get a spell ready to cast. You'll know when to go." Then, he willed his light into a grenade, different from the one he used against the goblins. He tossed it into the group, distracted as they were with tearing into some poor animal, then immediately lifted his bow, and nocked an arrow. Once he was certain of his aim, he fired the arrow. It flew true, embedding itself into the skull of one of the griffons at the same time the grenade landed in the middle of them. From the one that had been killed by the arrow, an eruption of void energy burned at the three near it, but didn't kill them.

Then the grenade went off. Bolts of lightning arced between them before they collapsed in various slumps of smoldering catbird, their squawks of pain alerting the other five. But Hunter was on a roll, nocking a second arrow faster than he had before, and sniping the furthest one in the same direction with another headshot, and another void explosion. Sadly, none were near enough to be hurt by it, but that was still five dead within as many seconds. He wouldn't say it, but he was just happy he only needed one arrow to kill them.

Blade Master and Frost Mage, though surprised, decided they would talk about that after the last griffons were dead. Frost Mage sent out three spikes of ice, impaling one that was about to take flight and two that roared at their new opponents. Blade Master had taken out a javelin, and threw it as hard as she could into the closest one. It didn't kill, but it stunned it for long enough for her to get in close with her claymore and nearly cut a wing off. It screeched, and swung at her, but she dodged and stabbed it through the neck with her shortsword, silencing it. Three left, one gravely wounded. Hunter stowed his bow, and equipped The Huckleberry, walking out and firing at the one hit by Frost Mage. The magazine refilling told him he had killed it, with the last bullet at that. Another took to the air, and it, too, was struck by another ice spike, then two more, one through the head, causing it to drop from the sky.

There was one left, now, and Blade Master went to engage. She threw another javelin, but it was dodged, and it began to take off. Hunter knew he could have dealt with it, but he wanted to watch how they would do it. She ran forward and, seeing another dead griffon underneath it, she stepped on it, and jumped off it, getting enough height to slash its chest. A less penetrative bolt of ice struck it in its left wing, freezing the joints, Frost Mage still putting in effort despite his limited spell casts. This was enough to make the griffon fall back down, where Blade Master ran to it side, and brought the crossguard of her sword down into its skull.

The battle over, this one more satisfying than the _goblin _fight from yesterday, Hunter let out a cheer. "That was great! All those ice spikes from you Frosty, and I can see why you're called Blade Master; you're real handy with those swords! And really good teamwork on your part, too. I can see you two have been doing this for at least a while by now."

The two looked at each other in bemusement. "I think we should be saying that about you, Hunter." Blade Master pointed to the group of four he first killed. "You shot one in the head, and it _exploded. _You killed five in the same time it took us to kill one, each."

"And those spells!" Frost Mage exclaimed. "You didn't even say any chants, you just threw it and finished whatever was left! I've never seen anything like them, even from an archmagi! Are those arrows magic, too? Are you multiclassing?"

Hunter realized that Goblin Slayer was far calmer than he had first thought; he certainly didn't ask all these... _any_ questions. "Well, this bow is just a bit special, really. Actually, _Huck's _the really special one, it's just less obvious about it. And, it's not really magic, despite what it may look like. I can just…" he flared some arc energy in his hands in demonstration. "Do this. I don't know how the Light works. You'd have to ask a Warlock or a Ghost about that, and only one of those is here."

"But warlocks _are _mages," Frost Mage stated. "Evil ones, at that. Also, why would we talk to a ghost?"

"They've got fancy robes like one," he began, "I'll give you that. Wouldn't really call them evil, though. Pricks, sure, but I've never even _heard _of a rogue Warlock, Osiris notwithstanding. And as for Ghosts and conversing with them..." He held his hand up, and out came the gray and gold shell of his closest companion.

"There's a Ghost. You may converse now." Hunter then went to retrieve his arrows from the corpses, only to find them dissolved by the void energy they released. His shoulders slumped, but he got over it quickly. "Anyway, we should go tell the villagers that their problem has been dealt with, and get back home. Do we need to bring back proof, or do we just have to tell them we did it?"

They were still silent at seeing Ghost. "Well? I know I'm nice to look at, but this is starting to get weird." Hunter rolled his eyes, and began to plucking feathers and cutting a beak off of a griffon after getting no answer. "I'm your nearest Light expert, being made of it, so ask away!"

"As we walk," Hunter interrupted. "I feel like that could be a couple of hours of questions, so yeah." And without waiting for them, he began walking, soon hearing their footsteps - and questions - behind him.

* * *

As they travelled back, first to tell they had finished the job, then to the Guild, he listened to a specific few of his companions questions. Some he expected: the usual "What are you?"s and "What is Light?"s that he would often hear children ask the few times he went down into the City itself. He'd felt rude, in a word, comparing them to children, when they were as effective fighters as they were, and also technically older than him. But then, they would have had no way of knowing about the Light before him.

Some were less common, though. They were quite curious about the three classes of Guardians there were, and how similar they sounded to themselves. Ironically, Blade Master wanted to know more about Warlocks, though given _they _were ones that could conjure swords, that was somewhat understandable. However, there were never any questions about their enemy, the Darkness, brought up, even if there was a 'Darkness' to the Light.

But, he supposed, they would realistically have no knowledge of the Darkness, either. He was amazed to realize, but there wasn't much Darkness in this place. In fact, for as little Light he could feel in this world, he had felt even less of its antithesis. Sure, he wasn't quite attuned to it, not like a Hive Wizard or the Drifter, but he still knew where it was, usually. And he hadn't sensed much on this planet.

But, while he had been more or less ignoring their questions, finally, one stuck out from him, near the end of their journey. Ghost had been made a few mentions of Guardians, and fair enough, as he hadn't been entirely secretive about Guardians, either. But, as she was explaining what a Guardian was, Blade Master asked her question.

"How would someone like me become a Guardian?" That was a tough question to answer, enough to catch Hunter's then wandering attention. For while they had name dropped Guardian quite a bit, they had never said anything about how most Guardians came to be. Which is to say, that you have to be dead, then be resurrected by a Ghost. And that would lead to them asking if he could come back from the dead now, which he'd rather not have to show that unintentionally.

Of course, Ghost was a good enough speaker to lie without really lying. "As you know, a Ghost, like me, must first find them. From there, a Guardian can only be made if they are found to already be capable wielders of Light, or if they can prove themselves worthy. Once someone is made a Guardian, whoever they once were is no more; now, they are a Hunter, Warlock, or Titan." And something to help dodge any questions about who he once was. He'd have to thank her for that later.

"So we could become Guardians," Frost Mage said. "I don't think I've ever been used 'Light' before, but I think I could be worthy."

"Well, Frosty," Hunter responded, a little sad to see a more subdued reaction, "you might be disappointed. We can burn stuff, shock things, and destroy it on an atomic level, but we can't freeze things. So, there's that." He actually didn't doubt he could be worthy, and the same for Blade Master. But, he didn't think any Ghosts were here, and he certainly didn't want the kids to die, and then forget everything about who they used to be. Unless they were like Shin Malphur, them becoming Guardians were the last things he wanted.

"I know other types of spells!" Frost Mage groused. "Frost spells are just my specialty. What I want to know more about is the void."

"You and me both," Hunter said, chuckling. "I've never attuned to the void like arc or solar. Too wild, some of the Nightstalkers called me. They're not wrong, though. For a Hunter to draw from the void, you need a clear mind, or else the latent chaos could literally destroy you from the inside out. Least, that's what I've been told."

Blade Master gave a small laugh. "So there is something you can't do. Good to know you're still learning just like us, then."

"I like her already," Ghost said, piling in on him. By this point, they had returned to the Guild, currently far emptier than when they had left, though not empty enough to have no waiting line. Guild Girl was at the desk, when he hadn't remembered if she was in the morning. He took his helmet off, carrying it in his left hand, as he looked around the building. He didn't notice before, perhaps because of all the people that _were _there, but there weren't just humans in the Guild. More of the wolf people were here (some far less human-like than others), dwarves and elves, and what looked like a reptile-man - a lizard, he thought.

Soon, they were at the front of the line, ready to give their mission report. "Welcome back! Have you completed your quest?"

"Yes we did," Blade Master started. "There were nine griffons about two miles north of the village. We killed them, though, with surprisingly no issues."

Guild Girl frowned. "Nine griffons? That's a steel quest, at least! There should have only been three, like the report said. But, you said that you dealt with them easily?"

She nodded. "Thanks to Hunter, yes. He killed two with his bow, and three more with a… special power, let's call it." From there, she was given a basic play by play of the how the quest went. Guild Girl spent much of that time looking at Hunter, and subsequently Ghost, who she had not seen until now, in surprise.

"Well then." She handed the trio their reward (which Hunter still wasn't sure if it was a lot or not) with a smile. "I hope you don't get too confident because of this."

They nodded, and went to a table to split up the reward. Blade Master and Frost Mage looked at each other, nodded, and simply handed the bag to Hunter. "You did most of the work, and like I said, I don't think we could have done this without you."

"I feel like you're giving me too much credit, then." He dumped the contents of the bag out onto the table, split it into thirds, then pushed the piles to them. "We're a team, right? Sure, I'm pretty great, but that's just more reason for you two, and our absent fourth, to become even better. I mean, are you really gonna let a _rookie _show you up?"

"Hell no!" Blade Master yelled, slamming her hand on the table. "I'm going to be so badass I can cut dragons in half! Watch me!"

"And I'll become such a powerful mage, I'll put Warlocks to shame!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Hunter knew they were making a scene, but he was entirely fine with that. What was more important, was that he knew this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

...So long as the cleric was also this fun to be around.

* * *

Elsewhere, up above the clouds, the gods played a game. This game had been going on for years, decades, centuries even. For as long as this world, which was made, populated, and controlled by them, still existed, they had, and would continue playing this game. Battles were and would be won and lost by both sides, and such was life for them. There was balance to it, minor hiccups like the one who refused their right to roll the dice aside.

However, this new part of their game, this 'Hunter' and his Ghost, was the doing of none of them. While he, in some regards, was fighting for the side of Law, he was uncontrollable. Literally. Much like the Goblin Slayer with his annoying ability, but all the same different. For where the Goblin Slayer would _simply _knock away the dice, this one…

This one didn't even exist half of the time.

Whereas the Goblin Slayer at least had the decency to show up on the board itself to stop their rolls, the Hunter hadn't even registered to them. That is, not until he showed up with a flash of light to change the fate of two of their pawns - pawns that were supposed to die, as the dice had decided. And just as quickly as he had showed up, he disappeared in a second flash. There had been anger amongst those of Chaos, though both were confused about what was going on.

Soon, though, the gods came to some understanding, and had to let it go, for the rest of the world needed tending to. The gods of Law figured that, if he was working in their favor, who were they to stop him? That would be going directly against their interests. The gods of Chaos, however, saw fit to try and deal with him. Though they did not know when next he would appear, they knew he had to. So, they prepared accordingly.

They were going to kill this _Guardian_, no matter what it took.


	4. IV - Lost Sector

It was a day after the Hunter's first bounty with his new party. But of course, there was still work to be done, and with the cleric still on her pilgrimage, as he had now been told, they would need to be extra careful until she came back. Even considering his own nuking capabilities.

"So, what are we doing, team?" he asked. While he was sure of his own limits for the missions here, he had to think of his companions own level of experience, which, to be fair, he had no clue of.

"An old burial ground," Frost Mage said. "More specifically, someone wants it mapped and cleared out of anything that might be in them. Though, there is sometimes some clearing out that needs to be done, mostly skeletons and zombies. This also usually means there's someone doing all the resurrecting, but it's not always the case."

"Ugh," Blade Master groaned, very unlike herself. "I can't stand zombies. I've heard that if you get bit by one, you're infected, and then you become one. That's too creepy for me."

"There are literally no recorded occurrences of this," he responded, though for whose sake Hunter wasn't sure. "They don't even need to eat, so there's no reason for them to bite anyone. Those are just stories people spread to scare each other."

"But if the stories are everywhere," Blade Master continued, "there has to be some credence to them! DC even once told me, 'Every lie starts from a confused truth'! Are you calling her a liar?"

"DC…?" Frost Mage was first confused, then dull realization struck him. "Oh. You're doing Hunter's thing. But no, I'm not, and if it does happen, then why isn't it in the Monster Manual? The tales probably come from someone who lumped them with werewolves, or vampires."

Blade Master, though looking to want to continue arguing, simply assuaged. Ghost, however, was having her own thoughts from within Hunter. "Undead, huh? Oh, if only they knew what you used to constantly do." He almost laughed at that, which he covered as a cough to gain their attention.

"Right." Blade Master went up to one of the receptionists, the other two close behind, and logged the quest as theirs. Then out they went, first to get new equipment; Blade Master's shortsword was chipped, and going into an old, cramped grave-site, she needed that more than her claymore. Thus, they entered the blacksmith's shop, to once more be greeted by the old, stout man and his apprentice at the counter. She walked up to the counter, placed her old sword down on it, and nodded to him. "And a mace."

"I assume you have the coin?" She pulled open her coin pouch, sifted through it, and dropped the necessary amount of gold on the counter. Smith eyeballed the gold, and once he was pleased, he grabbed the sword and and dropped it in a pile of others. "You really roughed that piece up. You starting to believe my words now, eh? Five foes at most, unless you're weapon's magic."

Meanwhile, Hunter was looking around the shop, specifically looking at the weapons on display. He knew that none of them were of the same quality of the swords he was used to, but that didn't change the fact that their craftsmanship was impressive. Even more so, in some ways, since most weapons he had were just made from programmed glimmer, whereas these had to be made by hand, in a forge!

He knew a few Titans that would have had a field day in a place like this. "Hey, Smith," he called out from where he was. When he looked up, he saw the man was surprised to see him talk, which was of no surprise to him. "How much would it cost to have a sword commissioned, if I brought you the materials?" He'd have to bring in some better alloys for the Smith to use to make a sword for him, or Blade Master. She could use it.

"That would have to be determined after the fact," Smith began, looking between him and his party members. "If you just bring me normal metals, that's nothing I'm not used to. But for material like mythril or adamintine, I would need different forging equipment, _and _methods to make proper use of it."

"That's fine," Hunter said. Frost Mage and Blade Master looked at him, not necessarily confused, but certainly intrigued by this. He held his hands up, wordlessly telling them it was a surprise for later, and stepped outside, passing by Goblin Slayer as he did. He nodded to Hunter, the barest amount of acknowledgement, but from someone like him, that meant something. Hunter didn't want to just accept that, but his friends coming out of the store stopped him from bringing this out.

With Blade Master's new weapon sheathed, they pulled out a map, and went out into the wilds, assumedly prepared for anything.

* * *

Two hours later, they were in the ruins, having already walked down the steps into the recesses of the ancient tomb. Hunter's Huckleberry and Blade Master's new weapons were both out, and Frost Mage was behind both of them, drawing out a map as they walked through the decrepit place. Ghost was also out, acting as a source of light, while scanning the area and making a digital map to be copied later as a backup.

The first set of foes were dealt with quickly, without issue. None of them were expecting much, to be fair; the skeletons died easy enough, with Blade Master able to crush their bones, and Hunter could just mow down anything else from afar. The same could be said about the second set, despite the increased amount of enemies. And the third.

By the fourth, Hunter was trying to make his kills more interesting for himself. He willed his Light to be that of Solar, and began throwing knives into his opponents skulls, each kill reimbursing his Light-made knife and giving him yet more kills. It was a blissful cycle, one that his companions were both appreciative and confused to see.

By the fifth, Hunter was starting up conversation mid-fight. "Hey BM, why didn't you have a mace before this? I mean, you seem so prepared otherwise, but you didn't have that weapon with you, until today."

She shattered the spine of one skeleton, and parried a strike from another with her sword. "Now isn't the time, Hunter!" The one she parried took a bullet to the head, freeing her to stab forward into the head of a zombie, which she kicked off into the group behind it. She ran back, and yelled at Hunter. "Clear them out!"

Hunter willed his light into a grenade, once more of scorching Solar, rather than the electric Arc he was more used to. "Plug your ears." He quickly threw it, the grenade striking a skeleton near the middle of the group, causing it to stagger, and exploded soon after, engulfing them in flames. The creatures tried to stumble forward, but they burned away, leaving little but charred corpses.

"...How many times can you do that in a day?" Frost Mage asked, jealousy prevalent in his voice. Hunter's shrug for an answer clearly only made him feel worse; that just meant he either hadn't found a limit, or just didn't have one. Hunter, for his part, wasn't sure which was the case either. Frost Mage could only sigh as he went back to drawing out the map.

"Ah, just wait," Hunter said. "It'll be no time before you're freezing entire mountains and countrysides. Then, I'll feel inadequate."

They continued their warpath, effectively mowing down everything unfriendly that came their way. And Hunter's boredom was ever growing all the while. He knew he shouldn't be complaining about this, what with how the universe always seemed to hear him, and how it liked to repay with interest. Besides, he certainly wasn't mad about finally getting some easy work for once.

Just... disappointed.

* * *

They had gone through the burial grounds for half an hour, before anything of interest happened. Ghost was the first to notice it. "Do any of you hear that? It sounds like... chanting, almost." she said, still scanning.

"Not Hive, I hope," Hunter whispered to himself. "Either of you ever dealt with something like this?"

"Nothing I can think of," Blade Master answered. "But from what you said, you have. I'll ask about 'Hive' later, though. But what that means is that you have some idea about the happenings. So…?"

"Hive chanting usually meant a ritual of some sort was going on," he said. "I don't know how to speak Worm, so I usually have to go on other people's assumptions for when I get sent to deal with them. It could be anything from a summoning, to a revival, to just something weird about their religion."

Frost Mage scoffed. "I doubt any religion congregating in a _tomb _is up to any good. Well, we have to go that way anyway, right? If it's too much, we know the way out." With all in agreeance, Ghost lead them to the noise, still scanning as Frost Mage sketched along the way. It wasn't long before the rest of them could hear the chanting as well, and much like Ghost, none of them understood it, what little of it they could clearly make out. Then, they reached a large open area, with an altar at the center of it, and ten humanoids in grey robes all chanting in unison. They knelt at the altar, but all turned to look at the party once they entered, as if knowing they would come.

"Three little adventurers," the center figure began, standing as he spoke, "here to help us in our mission. One of you is not like the other, but it will do." They all stood and reached into their cloaks, pulling out jagged, curved daggers that gave off an aura that Hunter found familiar, but all the same unknown. Hunter aimed his Huckleberry at them, and Blade Master, for her part, readied her mace and shortsword, just as the cultists, save for the one who had spoke, ran towards them. He knew that he could have gunned them down easy, but that wasn't at all entertaining.

That said, three were shot before they could move even five feet. Another found a thrown knife lodged into her eye, killing her quickly. Blade Master cut through the throat of one, and stabbed another through the stomach. She left the blade there and crushed the skull of a third with the mace. She caught the arm of a woman that tried to stab her with her dagger, and swung at another that came her way. Though she missed, Hunter casually stabbed through his neck without even looking his way. Blade Master punched the cultist, feeling her nose break under her gauntleted fist. The cultist backed off, clutching her face, and Blade Master brought the mace down on her head, the hit hard enough to cause one of her eyes to pop out.

By the time this was over, the one who hadn't advanced began to laugh. Then, the altar began to glow a sickly yellow light, engulfing the cultist until none of them could see him. And just as quickly as the light came, it disappeared, leaving the man hunched over, clutching his stomach, but still laughing. At first, they thought that whatever he was planning had failed, and this ritual only left him worse off.

Then he exploded.

A shower of blood and gore covered the altar and the grounds surrounding it, and in his place, stood a massive, gray skinned creature, looking at least ten feet tall. Curved, twisting horns protruded from it skull, giving it a dangerous looking silhouette. It's toothy maw gaped open, ready to rip into one of it's foe's flesh. From it neck, an odd looking bird skull necklace hung down. In it's right hand was a blade, black and jagged like the cultist's own daggers, but far more savage looking. It wore a breastplate and greaves made from metal as black as it's cleaver-like sword and a loincloth, and nothing else. It was a beastly, barbaric creature, made even more monstrous by the blood dripping off of it.

Hunter just thought it looked like it was overcompensating for something. "What are you supposed to be?" he yelled at it.

"I?" the creature, probably some kind of demon, said. Hunter wasn't expecting an answer, so he was slightly caught off guard by that. "I am the terror of the planes, the ripper of flesh, the harvester of souls! I have lead countless demons to countless battles, and I have killed hundreds of you adventurers, all of experience I can tell you lack! But none of that will matter to you, soon. All you need to know, whelpling, is that I am your doom."

"...Okay, that's really cool, but that's not a name." He didn't need to look to see Frost Mage or Blade Master's expressions. He felt them boring into him. Actually seeing their faces would just ruin the moment for him.

It did, however, ruin the Demon's mood. He roared, and ran towards the Hunter, far faster than he had thought he would. The four scattered, but the Demon veered towards Hunter, obviously looking to end the nuisance. Hunter shot at him, but each wound he made looked like it was healing as quickly as it came, and he didn't feel like wasting a magazine for that. So out came Subtle Calamity, and he nocked an arrow, and fired into his eye, hoping to deal some more permanent damage.

The Demon, though, was disrespectful of Hunter's wishes. He dodged the arrow, once more showing off his speed, and even went as far as to cut it in half mid-flight. Hunter groaned, and threw a grenade at him, this one exploding and sending out little drones to swarm him. This, finally, dealt some damage to him, but clearly not enough to mean anything. He dodged backwards to gain distance, but once he looked back, the Demon was charging him once more, and this time, he connected, slamming into him and sending him into a wall.

Hunter was happy that he didn't really feel pain like normal humans, because while his energy shield took the brunt of the hit, he was pretty sure he would have broken something from crashing into the wall. When he looked up once more, the Demon was visibly moving slower than before, and he could see Frost Mage looking like he just finished casting a spell. Hunter had wished he knew he could do that before. But, because nothing could be easy for him, the bird necklace began to vibrate, and Frost Mage slumped over, as the slowing effect faded away.

He dodged once more, barely causing the Demon to miss him and run into the wall. Blade Master came up behind him, plunged her shortsword into the back of his knee, bringing a roar of pain out of him. He turned and kicked her, sending her right into the altar. Hunter looked to see if she was okay, and seeing her try to stand back up told him she was alive, at least for now. So, he grabbed his knife, and leapt into the air, jumping once more for the height he wanted, grabbed one of the Demons horns, and stabbed him in the eye. He pulled the knife out, and went for yet more stabs to his face, each wound healing, but the getting slower the more damage he dealt.

The Demon, in response, grabbed Hunter by the arm holding his horn, and pulled him off. He was not expecting Hunter's grip to be as strong a it was, as with him came part of his horn, but he did not care. He slammed him into the ground as hard as he could, wrenched the sword from his knee, and brought it down into him, twisting the blade into his chest.

Hunter barely had time to register the pain before he died. "Hunter!" Blade Master yelled out. She hadn't thought he would die like this, and certainly not on a quest like this. This was supposed to be simple - it _was _simple! But this? This was more than she could have imagined! Frost Mage, too, was distraught, because he knew that if Hunter hadn't been able to handle this, how could the two of them? And no one would even know what happened to them, not unless they came here, likely to their deaths!

Unnoticed by them, or the Demon, Ghost began to travel to Hunter with a 'huff'. She traveled in the shadows, her frame working in her favor at the moment. The Demon turned around to address the other two. "I must admit, he almost had me. But, like the rest, he has fallen." She hovered to Hunter's corpse - well, she thought, now was as good of a time as any to let _this _cat out of its bag. She began to channel her Light. "And now, you two will die like him. And so, too, will the rest of this world! I will raze the lands, split the earth, and crush the life out of all the stands on this Plane! I will bleed this place dry! I will-"

A flash of light suddenly brightened the chamber. "Hey."

The Demon paused. He looked behind himself, and saw the being he had just killed, very much not dead anymore. Even more so, he looked like he hadn't been in a fight at all. And now, he was glowing a consuming orange, and holding a new weapon, one of gold, that burned in his hands. His stupor stayed his blade and his voice.

"You talk too much." Hunter then fired the Golden Gun, the first bullet striking the Demon's head. He had two more shots though, and seeing the head was still there, he fired the second shot into it, then the third for good measure. That did the trick, as the Demon disintegrated, literally burning away into nothing. There wasn't even ash to be found after the three shots were fired.

Hunter's glow faded away with that last shot, as the gun disappeared. He breathed in, always having felt better after a resurrection. He looked over to his friends, and their dropped jaws brought a sense of amusement to him. "What?" he said, pretending to be defensive. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Ghost herself groaned, but went back to scanning the room. This was not her mess to clean up, and she still had parts of this tomb not mapped out. And though she would never admit it, she wanted to make that joke first.


	5. V - Spark

"Hunter?" Frost Mage and Blade Master had equally shocked expressions on their faces. And why wouldn't they? They had very clearly seen Hunter die, stabbed through the chest with Blade Master's own sword. And yet there he stood, very alive, even being the one to kill the Demon with an ability they had not seen before. One that wreathed Hunter in a light (and, he supposed, a Light) unlike any they had seen before, and killed the Demon in three shots.

"That's my name, yes," he responded, snark dripping from his words. He knew what they meant, of course. He just felt like milking this a bit more. "Unless you're worried I might have forgotten. In which case, I'm thankful you care."

"You died." Blade Master finally said, trying and failing to stand. She winced when she fell, and reached into one of her pouches to grab a potion, happy they hadn't been smashed. She slugged it down, happy to feel the pain in her subside, and some of the more minor wounds heal.

"Indeed I did." He bent down to grab the bit of horn he had broken off of the Demon. He had Ghost transmat it into his room, and pointed her towards the Demon's sword still in the wall. He then held a hand out for Blade Master to grab. "It's not as rare as you might imagine it should be. I've actually lost count of the number of times I've died, it's so often. But I _do _know that my daily record is 55. Crucible's a harsh place for newbies."

"Is that a Guardian ability?" Frost Mage asked, now joining the conversation. "If so, why didn't you tell us about it yesterday? This seems important to know! We thought you were gone for good!"

"Aw, Frosty," he said, getting a groan from him in response, "I never would have guessed you cared so much. But really, I didn't think I would _need _to tell you. I've been so careful in recent years that deaths don't occur often." And losing his light meant he _had _to be careful, but he supposed he could secrets for future questions.

"And the flaming weapon you conjured?" Blade Master asked, wheezing slightly less. "I think you should have used it sooner rather than when you did. If nothing else, my _ribs _certainly wish you did."

"I didn't have the energy to do it until I came back," Hunter explained, genuinely sorrowful. "Besides, I thought I wouldn't need it for him! Huck should have wasted him, and he didn't look fast enough to dodge arrows, so I'm just as confused as you. Not too mad though; he put up a good fight. Seriously, that charge was like getting hit by a Swordbearer. I'm almost sad he's gone."

"You have a problem," Ghost said, finished with her work.

Frost Mage shook his head. "I agree with that, but I have other questions. For instance-"

Blade Master cut him off. "Frost Mage?"

"Yes?"

"Can it wait until we leave?" She winced once more. "I think I need to find a proper healer. I hurt in places I didn't know I had."

* * *

"What's dying like, Hunter?"

Frost Mage was a weird, curious kid. He had already asked other such weird questions. Hunter was fine with that. It took his mind off of the injured Blade Master, who Frost Mage had to help walk. "It's like going to sleep, for me at least. It's a weird thing to say about death, but when it's this cheap to you, it loses its sense of gravity. Sometimes, I even 'dream' when I'm dead, and I can see things from my past. Things from before I was a Guardian. Not a lot from when I was still human, though."

"And Ghost," Frost Mage said. "You're responsible for his continued resurrection, right?"

She practically scoffed at that. "I'm more than just Hunter's kindly necromancer, but essentially, yes. If you must know, I'm _also _his master key, his access to most of what he owns, his communication link, and most importantly, his best friend. Sorry, you'll have to settle for second and third best."

"I'm fine with that," he said. "But anyway. The 'Golden Gun'. I remember Ghost mentioning something about it yesterday, but her description didn't do it much justice. My limited knowledge of what a gun is, also thanks to her, didn't help matters. Why'd you use that instead of the Arc you're used to?"

"I didn't have a cool one-liner for the Arc Staff."

Soon enough, they returned to the Guild. This time, there was no line to wait, but unlike the morning, Guild Girl was present, and Spearman was trying to chat her up. Hunter began to wonder if she had many days off, since every day he had been here, he had seen her at least once. Though, she held a questioning look at seeing Blade Master practically hanging off the shoulder of Frost Mage. Those two went off to one of the tables, where Blade Master practically fell into a chair, while Hunter went up to the desk.

"Welcome back! How was your quest?" Guild Girl asked.

"GG! We had fun," Hunter joked. "But I think you saw that well enough. The tomb is mapped out, and it was way bigger than I thought It would be. We killed…"

"27 zombies and 23 skeletons," Ghost 'kindly' reminded him.

"I would have gotten there eventually," he groused. "But yeah, that amount of those things, ten cultists, and one demon general for taste." Both Guild Girl and Spearman barely registered what he said, and could only stare at him. "Okay, fine, the demon killed one of the cultists, but there were still ten of them. Actually, maybe the demon _was _the cultist, but he was in disguise. It wasn't really clear, to be honest."

Guild Girl blinked. She couldn't even think of much else to do. Spearman, however, suddenly began to laugh. "You know, it doesn't look good to lie in your mission reports." At that, Hunter had Ghost summon the Demon's horn and weapon into his hands. The cleaver-like sword was as long as he was tall, but he could carry it just fine. Spearman barely reacted to it, much to his surprise. "Damn. Alright, color me impressed, then."

"The Demon was also gray, and had another horn like this one." He held the horn up to his head, where he had broken it off from the Demon. "I don't know if that helps anything, but I feel like I should mention it. Maybe someone can unearth a name to our first big kill."

Guild Girl was getting surprised more often than she ever had prior to meeting Hunter, she realized. But, she shook off that feeling, and placed a bag of coins down in front of him. "Then, here is your payment. And hopefully your next mission will be what it says on the log."

"I wouldn't count on it," he said, and walked off to his companions. He rested his sword on the table, set the money down, and began to divvy the reward. "You okay, BM? You're breathing's gotten shakier." He gave himself a visibly smaller amount, what with the new sword he'd taken. He wasn't sure what he would do with the horn, but he'd figure something out.

"I told you," she began, "I'll be fine. I've taken hits at least close to that before." That said, she drank another vial of liquid, one that he didn't recognize as a health potion. Her breathing steadied slowly, and she leaned back into her chair. "For instance, I only _hit _the altar. I could have gone through it, like I did a tree."

Hunter paused his counting. He looked up at Blade Master to see if she was joking. Seeing nothing that might have implied that, he looked to Frost Mage, who he felt would lie about that. He, too, didn't seem to laughing about anything. "That's hardcore," was all he could say about that. Blade Master laughed at that, almost stopping herself from coughing in the middle of that.

The door to the Guild opened, and in came Goblin Slayer, freshly soaked in the blood of (what most could assume were) goblins'. Right behind him was a blonde girl, likely a priestess given her garb, also covered in blood. Hunter waved to them, wanting to greet his first made 'friend' and his follower. Goblin Slayer gave him the usual cursory amount of acknowledgement, whereas the priestess, jittery as she was right now, could barely do that.

"Didn't she leave with three others?" Hunter asked to no one in particular. Blade Master grunted in affirmation nonetheless, though. "Well that's depressing. Some of them looked like they could have made it far in the ranks." He supposed that was a harsh thing to say about three dead or worse kids, but he had seen his fair share of corpses made too soon.

So what was a few more to him, at this point?

* * *

A woman slowly walked towards a man, as he crawled along in the dirt, trying to escape his fate. He knew it was futile, what with the fourteen others surrounding him, but he couldn't just lay there, where no mercy would find him.. She smiled, though this was unseen by him; she liked the fighters. She stamped on his leg, where it had been cut off below the knee. He cried out in pain, before he got a mouthful of dirt as her boot pressed his head into the ground.

She shushed him. "There is no need for fear. As a bandit, you must have figured that eventually, an adventurer you couldn't take was going to come your way. Though, you must have never expected someone like me, ey?"

"F-fuck you!" His yell was muffled, but she heard him clearly enough. She kicked him in his ribs, flipping him onto his back. Now, he got a clearer look at her face, much more than when she slaughtered his crew. Hair as gray as ash covered much of it. Equally gray eyes stared back at him, unsettling when in tandem with her smile, as eerie as it was almost comforting.

"Now that's just rude," she said, her smile never leaving. "What would your mother say about you talking like that to a lady? You will need to be disciplined." In a flash of light, a grim looking battleaxe appeared in her hands, glowing with arcane energies unknown to him. She looked it over as she continued speaking. "Luckily, I am never without my usual punishment implements."

His eye widened, and his fear reached a peak. He could feel his bladder empty itself out of his volition, but right now, pride and shame were not his own. "Wait! A-aren't you a cleric? You're supposed to be saviors, people that help others, right? You can't just kill like that!"

She chuckled, a dark sound to hear if ever there was one. "Oh, you poor child you. You must understand, there are many positions for a cleric to hold. Some are of the domain of life, others are of knowledge, trickery, even the forge. As for me?" She raised her axe to the sky, and in the light of the sun, the glow could almost resemble faces, crying out in pain.

"My domain is death. And it is my duty to keep my allies from it, and bring my enemies to it." She brought the axe down, splitting his head open, and instantly killing him. She easily pulled the weapon from his skull, and wiped it off with a cloth, before sending it back to wherever it went when not in use. Sighing, she began to head back to the village she was living in, her calm smile never leaving her face. Soon, her pilgrimage would be over. Then, she could return to her little lion cubs, and see about keeping them safe once more.

And, of course, meet this Hunter that had been with them in her absence.

* * *

Out in the forest, a rune appeared on the ground, and a figure began to form. Bones formed and placed themselves into position, then meat and blood began to cover these bones. A layer of skin covered the flesh, gray in tint, and armor covered this in specific areas. Soon, consciousness returned to it, and the Demon awoke once more. He looked down and flexed his hands, surprised by his death, almost as much as when the pest he had killed returned to life. Almost as much as when he had been killed by that same being.

It wasn't often that he was felled in battle, certainly not compared to the enormity of the corpses he left behind in his wake. But none of those times had one of those corpses been the one to do it. He had the benefit of being a revenant, so it made sense when he came back; he had someone _he _was looking for, something he _had _to do. He couldn't afford for death to stop him in his quest. And, he would not deny, he greatly enjoyed the looks on the few who had succeeded in killing him as he came back to run them through. Of course, eventually someone wised up enough to just banish him from the Material Plane, some few centuries ago. He was lucky that enough knew of him to find his old necklace to break the spell.

But enough of that. It was fun when he came back from the dead, not so much when someone else did it. And there was barely any time between this pest's death, and his rebirth. He would call it impressive, if it didn't greatly annoy him. He closed his eyes, breathed in and out, and reached his presence out into the world. He needed to figure out where he was, so as to eventually find some of the Demon Lord's artifacts that were still in the Material Plane. That fool had gotten himself killed _again, _so he figured he wouldn't miss them.

And once more, his mind went to his more recent kill and subsequent death. "Hunter…" He rolled the name out, as if tasting it's bearing. Yes, he decided he would give him the respect of his title, as so few had earned before. He would do well as something to fight, in preparation for his _true_ duel. Though, he would need to learn to counter that golden weapon of his. That was a pain he was unfamiliar with, and one he would prefer to continue to be so. Though he must admit…

It was _still _preferable to the purple death orb.


	6. VI - The Farm

The gods were placing bets, now, on what the Hunter would do next.

The Hunter was unlike any being that they had guided or observed prior. He was unpredictable, in no small part thanks to how he was completely invisible to them until he did something that went against their whim. They had figured, now, that he was following two adventurers, two that were expected to be unimportant. And while the first time, when he had saved the two from death, was annoying, it was otherwise nothing major. Him doing the same when pitted against one of Chaos's favorite champions was another thing entirely.

Even more so, since he did that _after _dying, himself. They had even begun to take his piece from the board when he died, happy in their supposed quick triumph. That is, before the piece disappeared from their hands in a scattering of blue energy, and returned to the board, to kill their champion. And just like that, they realized this threat that they had just come across, was one that was more than a match for even their own unstoppable warrior. They did not know how they were supposed to deal with the Hunter.

So, they decided that they wouldn't. It only made sense that, if he had just come from nothing to affect their game, something else would come up to do it for them. They just had no idea what that might be.

* * *

Well over a week had passed since his first death in this new land, and Hunter and his party had just returned from another quest. It was a simple mission, requiring them to escort the mayor of a city (that he still didn't know the name of) safely home. Surprisingly for Hunter, it stayed simple, with only a few minor encounters, but in exchange, it was atrociously long, taking them almost five full days to complete. But now they had returned, ready to turn in their quest and get their reward.

But as they walked into the Guild, they weren't expecting this much bustle. Most of the guild was preparing for a mission in their own way, some sharpening weapons, others buying potions, some preparing spells, but only a few were actually leaving the guild hall or its premises. But he saw Goblin Slayer, for once not on a goblin slaying quest, so he could assume it was something that needed this much manpower.

"What's all this about?" he asked once he was near the desk.

"There is going to be a goblin raid on the farm outside the city," Guild Girl (seriously, how much do they work the gal?) began, "and Goblin Slayer has requested aid from the guild. Officially, the task would be worth 1 gold per goblin killed, but he expects there to be more than 100 goblins there, so there should be more than enough for those taking part."

"Cool," he said. She expected more from Hunter, being as talkative as he was, but she got nothing further. She was almost disappointed.

"Do you suppose we should help him?" Frost Mage asked. "I mean, he's so strange, and I don't know if I like the way he looks at people."

"Through his helmet." Blade Master's sarcasm was painfully obvious, almost stabbing, even. "But no, I get you. He only takes goblin quests, which is pretty strange, yeah, but he probably has a reason for that. Either way, this is essentially free money, and we're helping out a silver rank, which looks good for us."

"And you'd finally get to show off that new spell," Hunter added. Personally, he was entirely willing to help, especially since Goblin Slayer helped him get here half a month ago. But he saw this as an easy was to give Frost Mage more incentive to want to do so.

"I told you, I've never had a good reason to use it!" Frost Mage exclaimed, insulted. "It's better to large crowds, and we've yet to fight any of those!"

"So, you won't have any excuses this time," Hunter and Blade Master said, simultaneously. They heard Guild Girl giggle at the sight, reminding them that they should probably move for anyone else turning in quests. Quickly finishing their quest report, they headed off, looking for the man of the hour and hoping to get extra details on his request. To their barely held surprise, he wasn't alone, talking – as much as what he did could be called that – with the priestess Hunter had seen him with not too long ago, apparently a member of his party. He was fairly certain he had three others in his usual party, but they weren't around, at the moment. He'd have to meet them at some point.

Well, she seems like someone who can keep him alive, Hunter thought to himself, and strutted up to his first 'friend' since coming here. "Yo, GS! It's been a while, and I see you've got a party of your own, now. So, what's the plan?"

"Who are you?" The priestess, despite how calmly she had said that, looked more than a little confused by him. Then again, he only knew Goblin Slayer, and even then, that was just a day's worth of knowledge, compared to what he would assume was a quest and several day's worth of knowing him. He was a stranger, really, as much as he tried to make nice.

It didn't kill his mood, though, not even in the slightest. "Name's Hunter. I'm a… friend? Acquaintance? I'm an acquaintance of GS. He brought me to the guild after I helped him with a quest a day before you did, actually. You've got a got teammate in him, but I'm guessing you know that already."

Her face was a strange one, almost distressingly so. It wasn't necessarily a bad look, though; more, it was one of ever more confusion, likely from imagining the talkative Hunter working with Goblin Slayer, and working well together at that, despite how dissimilar they were. But she'd never seen him work, so for all she knew, they were a team that was perfect for each other. She smiled, a look that better suited her, and bowed slightly. "I'm Priestess. It's nice to meet you, Hunter."

"Well, at least you didn't scare her off." Blade Master almost chuckled as she said that, now seeing Hunter's methods of conversing at work against a personality far different from his own boisterous one. "Anyway, we're here to get more details about the quest GS-er, Goblin Slayer has. We know there'll be goblins, but what about expected types?"

"I can't tell the specifics," Goblin Slayer began, "but given the likely numbers, I know there will be champions and shamans, and at least 1 lord. The raid will be at night, like most goblin raids are. More than likely, they will have their human shields with them as well." Hunter was face deep in his monster manual in seconds once he heard that, quickly finding, and summarily regretting looking for, the part describing said shields. For being so much less of a threat than his usual enemies, these things found ways to be worse all the same. It was a skill he didn't appreciate that they had.

"Well, I was hoping for more than that." She rolled her shoulders in her armor, and sighed. "But you've got my help in this, and I know my party's up for it, too. So, unless there are any complaints, I'll go and make it official."

"Oh yeah," Hunter said, and brought out his sword, now set as his heavy weapon, in a materialization of reconstructing glimmer, the cleaver like blade resting on his shoulder as he held it. "I really want to see if this thing is as cool as that demon made it seem." He swore he could hear Blade Master mutter 'show-off' through a cough, but he wasn't going to dispute that. The looks he was getting from the rest of the guild told him she was more correct than he could have guessed.

* * *

Hunter checked his weapons once, twice, thrice as he sat outside the farm, literally and figuratively mechanical in his movements. He hadn't needed to, really; he'd done that back in the guild, and as expected, they'd been in perfectly working order. The same could be said for every recheck he'd made since, save for the flaking of blood he'd found on recheck two of the sword. His gun was oiled and calibrated, his bow's string was tight and unfrayed, and his blade was clean and sharp. No, the real issue for him came from him having enough time to do that many checks in the first place. Simply put…

He was getting bored.

"GS _did_ say the raid would be at night, right?" He laid the sword across his lap as he sat, elbows resting on it as he held his head in his hands. His expression couldn't change, but his lack of excitement was plain enough to those around him, of which happened to consist of his party, and just about every other lower ranking guild member not partied with a high rank, with a few gem ranks strewn about. Blade Master was farther up front, part of the 'first wave' as it were, though still in his sight. He was still perfectly aware, though, scanning the forest with his ocular sensors, trained from years as a Guardian for any unusual movements, still finding nothing other than the wildlife.

"He did," Frost Mage said. "Though, it's more likely it won't be until about midnight, when night is the darkest it'll get. Goblins don't like the light, you know, Though, I'm sure you'll show them just what Light they should fear."

"I was gonna say that." It was clear enough to the two of them what he meant, but to those not part of their merry band, the humor was lost.

"Stop calling me Frosty, and I won't steal your jokes."

"Don't steal my jokes, and I won't call you Frosty." Frost Mage hummed at that, and smiled slightly, his answer obvious even without words. Hunter was losing that battle, at least for now. But he'd have to leave it be, as he saw movement that wasn't some bushy tailed critter (he'd have to figure out their name) for once. "We've got contact."

The bushes rustled as something began to travel out of them. At first, Hunter couldn't fully make out what he was looking at, but as it came further out into the moonlight, he could easily recognize the body of a female body, bloodied and tied tight to a 'shield', really just held together wood boards. More quickly followed, easily a few dozen just in this spot, and with only more out of sight. Actually seeing it in person was different, having to hear the mild groans of broken-willed women, and the sneering laughter of goblins knowing none would attack them like this. Even with all the death he had seen, this was unlike anything he'd seen in his dimension.

12 years fighting monsters, and that's what gets me, Hunter thought, still sitting calmly. "Aren't you up now, or are you really a one trick pony?" When he didn't answer, he was almost saddened by that. "Come on, don't give me the cold shoulder."

"I know the spell, but the two doing it will be more than enough for this." Hunter looked far to see the dwarf that was with Goblin Slayer and another mage casting Stupor, a spell that quickly put the weak goblins to sleep, leaving the shields untouched, and ready for the first wave to run up, ignoring the goblins not passed out to grab the women. He couldn't help but nod as he saw Blade Master do a bit of showing off herself, carrying two of the women back to safety.

"So, Ghost, you can keep a counter for us, right?" Hunter asked, not bothering to deal with the looks of confusion he got from those who had no idea who he was talking to.

"I've done it during strikes, I've done it during Crucible, I can do it here." Before he could start his run out, though, Frost Mage was already starting his own casting, drawing a line through the air with his staff, where 7 ice orbs formed, small in size, then shot out into the forefront just as the last of the first wave came back, out of the way of the spell. The orbs slammed into a goblin each, exploding as they did, killing those they hit and most of the ones next to them. With 17 dead in one spell, Frost Mage looked at Hunter with a cocked eyebrow.

"Large crowds, got it," Hunter said, and ran out immediately after, massive cleaver in tow. Despite the massive size of his blade, he was the first to get within striking distance, and with his new weapon, he swung out, carving up three goblins with one fast slash. He kept it up, moving to another grouping to cut through them as well, the weight and sharpness with his quick handling meaning it lopped off whatever it hit. He had to admit, it felt heavier than a Hive sword, but he could work with it. By the time he'd reached 13 heads, he was deep in their ranks, surrounded by goblins, and the rest of the adventurers had only just made their way to the monsters.

Yet they were hardly worried about them far more concerned by the single man cutting swathes through them like paper. Most couldn't even get a hit in, and the very rare few that did had their weapons stopped by his kinetic shield, bouncing off his invisible barrier to have their wielders cut down just like their brethren, heads and arms flying, blood spraying across the field. When he sees some smaller ones in hoods, he has an easy time figuring these are shamans, and pulls Huckleberry out as he impales a goblin with the sword, blade dug deep into the ground beneath.

Three pulls of the trigger give his count three fresh shaman kills. He knows he doesn't need to conserve with Huckleberry, so long as he can kill something with it, and he acts accordingly, hardly taking aim and simply spraying around him. The ammo counter in his HUD never fell below 20 as he tore through the goblins surrounding him, each kill refreshing his magazine and strengthening the gun's bullets at the same time. He took his eye off the battle for a moment to see others at work, Blade Master killing with her own claymore, Frost Mage playing support with his spells, someone literally kicking the head off a hobgoblin, and of course, the other silvers going about their 'work' as well. Even this far out, he'd make sure his party was safe, taking potshots at whatever would almost hit Blade Master or got too close to Frost Mage, and continuing his slaughter.

It was when the first champion came out, obvious in his massive, more 'armored' state, that things got almost tough. One of the higher ranks called for a silver to come and handle it, and while every other adventurer got out of the monster's way, Hunter wasn't going to listen. Huckleberry at full Rampage would easily rip him to shreds, but where was the fun in that, he thought, stowing his gun and putting both hands on his now retrieved sword, dodging and slicing down smaller goblins as he came up to it. He really would have to thank Ghost for keeping an accurate count later, because by this point, he'd already lost the number. He jumped as he reached it, high enough to look it in the eyes through his helmet, and as it swung to hit him out of the air, he jumped again, flipping solely for style over the club it used, then once more to push himself behind it.

He landed on a goblin's head, crushing it under his weight, and spun around to swing at a leg, cutting deep enough to almost completely dismember the champion. It was clearly weaker than the demon this sword came from, and slower too, so this was almost painfully easy in comparison. He ducked as it swung around its back, dodging the strike and countering in accordance, taking an arm with him as he did, a bloody stump all that was left. The goblin roared in anger and pain, and threw a punch, which Hunter blocked with the edge of his blade, forcing the monster to split his fist and arm down the middle. Hunter, in kindness, threw his own punch, infused with arc energy, right into the head of the goblin, the quickly dead body disintegrating from the energy. And just to show how fast he could have done that, he threw grenade at another champion, this one homing and sticking to his face, and exploding seconds later, instantly killing it without any issue.

Although those that had seen this go down, save his two party members, were more than surprised by how easily a porcelain dealt with two champions, their stupor was quickly gone, and their own fights continued, wanting to make money just as much as he must have been. For his own part, Hunter looked like he was actively challenging the goblins to come to him, arms spread in invitation of them. Most were dead before they could respond, killed by other adventurers, and the few that did take his challenge, foolish creatures they were, died just as quickly for it. Those that ran didn't last long either, picked off by archers and any mages who still had spells.

When it was all over, Hunter stowed his sword on his back, the magnetic lock keeping it steady, and went back over to his party members. He gave them both a thumbs up, and once more, he was certain he'd heard someone say 'show off', this time sounding like Frost Mage. "So, how many kills do you two get?"

"29," came Frost Mage's response. "My new spell helped a lot with that."

"26," Blade Master said. "I could have gotten more, but I was getting the women off those shields. Damn goblins, I never knew I could hate them more."

"Can't say I don't agree." Hunter wiped some blood off his armor, thinking of what life would have been like if _his _goblins did that. Even more so, since it would almost assuredly be guardians, long without their ghosts to bring them back. He shook the thought away, for once grateful that his enemies only wanted to kill him. "As for me, my final count was…"

* * *

"65?"

Guild Girl, by this point, shouldn't have been surprised to hear these things when it came from Hunter. From putting in more work than Goblin Slayer before he even started, to dealing with 9 griffons in one quest, to killing a demon general, it seemed that he was a man who could do little more than find newer ways to surprise her with his quest reports. It was a wonder when his last quest, yet that just meant this one would have to be a big one.

"2 champions, 7 shamans, 3 hobs, and 53 normal goblins, to be specific." Ghost had kept a record of every kill he'd made, and was willing to give the specifics for each of them, but she could assume Guild Girl didn't need that much detail. "I can guarantee my numbers are accurate, so he can't give himself a larger count than he really got. He doesn't need any artificial ego boosts; he gets enough real ones as it is."

"I can vouch for the two champions, at least." Spearman, ever helpful even if he looked a little sleazy, was willing to give that much. Really, he had seen Hunter's warpath, and he was more surprised the number wasn't higher than anything else. "For a rookie, if you can even call him that, he's pretty good."

"No, I believed it, it's just…" She had to think, what kind of training did he get that let him do this? He had seemed like the normal cocky new adventurer, and yet everything pointed to him having at least as much experience as some of the upper gem ranks, or higher. Well, promotions were coming up, and it was almost a certainty he would get one, so at least he had that. "Here is your gold, Hunter."

"Thanks, Double G. I was hoping the champs would be worth more, but I'll take it." He went over to the table that his party sat at and placed his gold on the table. As was almost custom, he divvied the gold between them, giving them both 12 gold, and storing the rest. He didn't really know what he would do with all the gold he had, but he'd find something. "So that was something. I know you don't need the charity, but I don't need the gold, so keep it."

Blade Master scooped the gold from the table, placing it in her coin sack. "I wasn't gonna complain about it." She grabbed her mug, and drank slowly, savoring her swill in peace, as much as there was for how much noise the guild was making after that quest. Most everyone came back with several kills to their name, and more gold to line their pockets, so everyone was happy. "So. 65."

"I've been doing this for a bit."

"They couldn't even touch you." Frost Mage was looking over his own gold, counting what he had made with what he already had, and was seemingly satisfied by the amount. "And you killed two champions without even trying. A bit seems like an understatement."

"Even without those two," Blade Master took another sip, now staring at him, "you still killed more than we did combined. You're on another level." Once more, he couldn't deny that, but he knew that these two would get stronger, eventually. She'd get better gear, and Frost Mage would learn new spells, while he'd have to get used to their methods, if his weapons ever ran dry. Hunter hummed soon after, and nodded. More ideas came to him, some better than others, before he thought back to his weapons, and more importantly his new sword.

And in his head, he wondered how they would look with weapons from his timeline.


	7. VII - New Dawn

The Demon traveled, impressively unseen despite his stature and general look about him. Though he was more than a match for any adventurer short of a gold, attention wasn't what he needed. The seal keeping him in hell had only been broken weeks ago, and it wasn't unlikely for there to be mages and clerics who could bring that back. Discretion was important if he planned to stay in the material plane and slay his target. On top of that, he'd found another being who could kill him so painfully easily, and one that was annoying to boot, overly talkative and too whimsical, and most importantly, one who, like him, didn't want to stay dead.

He grunted, and continued his trek to the dungeon, a place of great difficulty and items of equal power. If he was to grow stronger, especially with Hell in such disarray after the most recent Demon Lord's death, he'd have to do it the mortal way, and scavenge some ruins. With his necklace, a tool that never left his person, it wasn't hard to find what he wanted to, but he had no way to tell how far it was. Which is exactly why he had been following the path it pointed towards…

For the past 5 days.

His demonic constitution and half undead nature meant a walk that long wasn't an issue, and few creatures wished to try and fight him, whether out of fear of the demon, or simply because they weren't hungry enough for his flesh, he couldn't tell. Though, the latter felt like an insult; his flesh was worth more than that of anything living in the forest, as far as he was concerned. Nonetheless, this was the least stressful time he'd had in literal centuries, both in and out of Hell. He just had a problem that the necklace pointed him to a dungeon that, apparently, was at least a week's travel from where he had been resurrected.

"Was there not a suitable oubliette closer than this?" He asked himself, knowing the skull would not answer this trivial of a question. But he spoke it nonetheless, more so to give himself the peace of mind that he could speak. He hated that he was at least partially proven his last killer's words true, but he had a method to his madness. That method just also happened to require long speeches, made to build fear in the hearts of his foes. It worked, most of the time. The rare times it didn't, he'd almost always shown them that they should have feared him.

Almost, because of the two outliers he had met with. This one, with his weapon of burning gold, and the other, his truest hatred and the reason his deaths would not be final until they, too, were dead. He would deal with this new foe if, and when they next met, but until then, he had his own goals, just as he was sure he, and his two allies, likely did as well. Though, there was a particularly petty part within him that hoped, whatever they were doing, it was at least as menial as what he was doing.

* * *

"So, what, I walk in, have a talk, and they make me a higher rank?"

Hunter was only moments from going through his promotion interview, and as simple as it was, it was almost incredulous to him. This seemed like a lot of work just to let him to take on tougher quests, yet if that's what needed to be done, he'd deal with it and its little annoyances.

"It's more than that," Frost Mage said as they sat near the door. He was writing something down in his spell book, in a language that Hunter couldn't tell what it was. "See, if we were all the same rank, you'd also be doing this for our benefit. But whereas Blade Master and I are obsidians, you're a porcelain, even if not in actual skill. So, you get to do this for yourself. Really, it shouldn't be too hard, what with all that you've done. If you could skip ranks, you'd probably be at least emerald, but as far as I've heard, that can't happen. If nothing else, though, just mentioning the demon lord will get you the ranks you need for quite a while."

"Yeah, but how'll they know I'm telling the truth? I can say I killed a lot of things, but they won't know for certain." Ghost, almost like a dopeslap, transmatted the demon's sword right in front of him, the handle landing on his shoulder with a light clatter as it hit the plating upon it. He looked at the sword, then to Ghost, and back to Frost Mage. He shrugged in defeat, having no words to fairly dispute this.

"Even without that," Frost Mage said, a small laugh coming out as he did, "there are other methods of telling the truth, like spells specifically for weeding out lies. Though, given what you _could_ say that you've done, they might not believe those spells, infallible as they may be. But still, they'll have nothing else to go on, so you're in a good spot. And after that, depending on how long that takes, DC should be here, or at least close."

"Uh huh." Hunter nodded, and leaned back in the bench, head now resting in his hands and staring up at the ceiling. So, there wasn't much else for him to do except wait for his turn. Well, he may have been a little less than patient, but he could do that; he figured that couldn't take too long…

* * *

Yes, it was his great hope that their, or rather, _his _boredom was at least close to his own. He continued his walk, each heavy step creating a rumble that could be felt some dozen meters away, scaring the wildlife that call this forest home far from his path. He'd say he would kill to have something to give way to this monotonous walk, but he'd literally killed for less, so that wasn't saying much. He was fine with the near droning peace he had, but this was almost too much peace for him.

"Halt, foul demon!"

Somehow, he felt like this was karma for every bad deed he'd done. He wasn't sure if he deserved this or not. He turned, to see a human male in almost impressive looking chainmail armor that practically gleamed in the sunlight. For some idiotic reason, he lacked a helmet, showing off his rather young-looking face and orange hair, and his charm detected no enchantments or spells that would have let that make any amount of sense. In his right hand was a halberd, and in his left, a shield, bearing the crest of a paladin sect, telling him that this was a holy warrior of sorts.

In all honesty, the Demon was just surprised that this guy came from a sect he was sure was dead. If he ever saw the Horned Devil that said he killed them all, he'd make sure rub this failure in his face. But that surprise wasn't enough to make this worth it. "Damnable spawn of hell, I have come to smite you! Whatever foul deeds you have committed shall cease here. You will go back to whatever unholy circle you came from!"

"By the Ancients, is this fool serious?" The Demon said under his breath, and as the paladin lowered his polearm and raised his shield, he realized that yes, he was. And upon seeing that, while he may have been a paladin, he didn't seem to have any magical prowess, he felt almost insulted. So insulted, in fact, he decided to do some insulting of his own. In the form of turning back around and continuing through the path his necklace told him to go. This wasn't even worth it as a joke, and he wasn't sure how much longer he had to travel.

"W-wait!" He could practically see the expression of the poor, confused buffoon of a paladin in his mind's eye, and he didn't care to look back to confirm if he was close to reality. "You can't just walk away from me! I must slay you, to prove my mettle!" When the Demon's stride kept its pace, not even giving a pretense that he was going to turn around to confront him, he got angry. Angry enough to do something that was far more of a mistake than just confronting this demon.

"Face me, you coward!"

While the Demon was not a creature who cared much for what those lower than him said about him, he had a few grave annoyances. One was being cowed by something he thought was weak. One was, as even he had only recently learned, weapons grade sarcasm directed at him. And one, which this wannabe knight had just triggered, just so happened to be being called a coward. He stopped mid-step, clenched a fist, and turned ever so slowly, staring down the boy. Perhaps he realized his mistake when the Demon looked back to him, but this is what he wanted, and now he would be paid in full.

The forest was quiet at that moment, as if already in silent mourning for him, yet neither noticed this. All the Demon knew was that this paladin was still standing in front of him, and right now, that pissed him off. As for the paladin, well he wasn't sure what he saw anymore, but he hoped this wasn't the thing he _would_ see. He ran forward, letting loose a battlecry as he charged the Demon in an attempt to get in a quick first strike. When the Demon rather easily moved out of the way, still staring him right in his eyes, he finally realized just how much of a mistake he had made.

"Ah, shi-" He didn't get to finish his curse, as he was back handed across the temple, and sent into a spiral through the air, impressively still alive, but certainly _not_ still in the fight. The Demon stomped towards the human, and as he tried to stand back up, he was literally slapped down once more, thoroughly humiliated despite the complete lack of a sapient audience. When he tried to stand back up a third time, he was simply punted away, the Demon kicking him into a tree that did little to cushion the blow, splinters showing on the bark as he landed back on the ground. Satisfied, in a sense, by what he done, the Demon left the paladin to his pained devices, clutching his stomach and mere moments from throwing up.

"These adventurers are nothing like what they used to be," the Demon said to himself as he continued down his path. "Before, even the freshest of paladins could at least stand a fight. This was little more than disappointing." His necklace glowed and shook from its spot as if in agreeance, bringing a chuckle out of him. If nothing else, it almost killed the monotony.

* * *

Hunter was barely awake by the time he had his chance to take his promotion interview. Apparently, being technically solo for this meant that he was put far in the back of the queue so as to get the other groups finished with their own promotions. The only problem, was that there were several dozen groups that were part of the Adventurer's Guild, and quite a few other actual solo workers, so all he could do was wait.

And wait.

And wait.

With all that waiting, and no real capabilities to just leave to go about some other business, he just sat within the Guild, making his own form of entertainment. At first, he took turns guessing whether or not a group was going to be promoted with Ghost. Of course, by only knowing a few parties, and those same parties mostly consisting of very high-ranking adventurers that weren't going through an interview, meant that his guesses were about as educated as a Hive Thrall. Thus, it got boring quickly, even if seeing some parties argue after what he could only assume was a failed promotion was entertaining.

Next were various attempts to talk to other adventurers. They were attempts, because for the most part, no one wanted to do much talking. The few that he did know were either away on quests or otherwise preoccupied, so that was a bust. For those that didn't know him personally, he was the sarcastic, somewhat scary, skull-faced golem with unknown magic and even more unknown weapons. Thus, he only got a bite from a half-elf girl, that was so one sided he was sure she'd said 6 words in total. He'd have probably had a better chance getting Goblin Slayer to talk, but it was better than nothing, if only barely.

When all else failed, he rescinded back into his mind, and thought, until he found himself doing something so un-Hunterly, he could practically feel his nonexistent skin itch at what his actions. He was meditating, and though it was nothing like a Warlock, given that he wasn't floating, or creating and simultaneously repairing rips in causality, or whatever it was that happened when a Warlock meditated, he was still doing it. It was strange, because despite how much he knew it wasn't his thing, he was getting it. There was a sense of calm within him as he slowly shut his consciousness off from the world around him, leaving only his Light and the Light that surrounded him in his mind. It was so calming, in fact, that he didn't even realize he was falling asleep.

That is, until he felt Huckleberry land on his head, stirring him from his near rest and causing him to instinctively catch the gun. It was empty, as his HUD told him, not even with a mag in place, but even without that extra weight, it was still heavy enough to startle him. "You could've just told me to wake up." He stowed the gun on his back, a little annoyed by the prank, but thankful it was this, and not Hammerhead that she dropped on him.

"I was, but you weren't responding."

"I meant in my head." When she only stared at him, somehow looking full of snark despite being what amounted to an amassment of tetrahedrons, he could only blink in realization. "Oh. Well then. I'm never doing that again." He stood, feeling the servos in his body do what could be called stretching, and he bounced a little, to let himself warm up, in a sense. When he watched the person he recognized as the adventurer before him in the queue come out of the room, looking just a little severely depressed as he went up to his party, Hunter walked into the interview room.

He was surprised by how extravagant the room actually was, being a room that was probably used once a month at most. Weapons and a shield on the left wall, and a brimming bookshelf in the right corner, plus more weapons and shields. On top of that, his 'seat' was a plush looking couch in front of the three people that would be interviewing him. He had expected to see Guild Girl in there, since apparently either the board worked that poor girl like a slave, or she was very willing to do almost everything. The other woman was someone he did not recognize in the slightest, but the blond hair and complete lack of a smile made her clearly different from the constantly smiling Guild Girl.

The third, however, was Goblin Slayer. That caught him off guard, but he supposed it made sense; an Adventurer would be a good proctor for something that determined the merit of other Adventurers. Still though, why they decided to bring in the strangest person he'd met in the Guild, he'd never get. "Nice place." He walked up to the couch and sat down, deigning to try and appear serious. But even through his armor, he could tell how soft the couch was, and was more than a little annoyed that it felt more comfortable than his bed. "So, how's this gonna work? I tell you about how I've killed some crazy things, I'm guessing Blond GG determines if I'm telling the truth, and then I get promoted?"

The glare he got from Blondie told him if looks could kill, he'd have experienced his second death since he got here. Guild Girl herself held her smile, but he couldn't tell if it was a real smile or not. Goblin Slayer… was Goblin Slayer, and that said as much as it needed to. "Admittedly, that does sum it up, yes. So, Hunter, you've been here for almost a month by now, but you have quite the impressive resume. Helping Goblin Slayer on a quest before you even joined the guild, helping your party deal with enough griffons to give a party of steels issue, and most recently, bringing in more goblin kills than even some silvers, to say nothing about the champions. And that's not even bringing up the demon you've brought up before."

"Well, I've been doing stuff like this for a long time." Hunter's ego was being thoroughly stroked, but he felt there was an ulterior motive behind this. Guild Girl was smart enough to question what he did, and how he could even do it. "I can handle myself pretty well, and it'll take a lot to keep me down, much less put me down in the first place. But I'm just pretty good compared to some of the real legends."

"Oh?" Guild Girl nodded, and suddenly her face turned serious, despite the calm smile still held in her expression. "So, why is that _I've _never heard about these legends? If they're as great as you may imply, you'd think they would be common knowledge. But I've done a bit of research, and have found nothing about anyone with powers like yours."

Hunter was a little surprised and impressed by that, but it was fair enough. He was an enigma to this world in every sense he could have possibly been. It couldn't have been more obvious how out of place he was if he held a massive hardlight sign that said as much. "It'll be hard to find much about us. As far as I know, I'm probably the first to arrive in this land, and there aren't a lot of books about our group."

Though, I can't imagine what the Cryptarchs would do if they found a Golden Age book on Guardians,he thought, still telling enough of the truth, however technical it was, that the Proctor's magic didn't act to say otherwise. "Listen, I know you're probably gonna want to hear all about how cool I am, so maybe we can do this in the future? I've got a date to get to." He let that slip to give the Proctor something to guarantee was a lie, but before she could say anything, he continued. "Okay, not really a date, but a friend of a friend is coming in, and apparently I'll like her. But next time, if you interview me then, open book."

She nodded, then smiled once more, whether genuinely or just as a practiced expression, he would never be able to tell. "Before you go, please, make sure you're more honest with your party than you are with us." He had to give her credit, she was surprisingly good at seeing through his half truths for only having the rare interaction with him. "You'll get your new tag by tomorrow, but given your allies, you are still fully eligible to accept obsidian and steel quests."

"Thanks. And believe me, I already am." He stood, and gave a Hunter's Salute to the three as he walked out of the room, to see the faces of his party standing just outside the door. He gave them a thumbs up, and walked past them, the two close behind him, and someone who he was sure he'd seen go in for their interview slipping into the room before the door closed. "It went well, I think. Now, I don't know about you, but I want to meet this DC. You still haven't told me what her name me-"

He was cut off when he walked into a tall wall of thick plate armor, stuff that would have made a Cabal blush. He looked up to see the face of the person he'd bumped into, and saw an admittedly quite pretty face framed by long, ashen hair staring down at him with a calm, yet somehow worrying smile. It was clear enough that she was quite experienced, and more than likely, the woman he was looking for. "You wouldn't happen to be DC, would you?"

She furrowed her brow as she looked down at him, clearly trying to figure out what DC meant, and for her credit, only taking a few seconds to realize what it was. "I am Death Cleric, yes." She spoke in an even tone, almost at a whisper, that was soothing, yet still carried that slightly nerve-wracking aura she exuded. "And your closeness to my little lion cubs tells me that you must be Hunter."

His face couldn't show it, but he was more than a little unnerved that she knew his name somehow. He wasn't exactly famous, and he was sure of that. "Ominous. And yeah, if that's the nickname you have for BM and Frosty. They, uh, didn't tell me you were built like a Titan, but that's a case of blunt force trauma no one here would get."

Equally to her credit, her smile didn't waver at all, and she simply looked over to Blade Master and Frost Mage with her continued serene look. "Does he do this often?" When the pair could only give an awkward look in response, she laughed, a light noise that was far bouncier than he would have guessed from her, then clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I think we'll be good friends, ey Hunter?"

Though he couldn't smile, he nodded his agreeance, and figured that, while four was a head more than the usual fireteam, that wasn't exactly a bad thing. "Yeah, we'll make the best of friends."

* * *

The Demon stood in front of a simple enough looking tomb, its exterior unassuming to even him and his far more trained eyes. His necklace had told him that this was his destination, and at first, he was worried. Had his guide led him astray for the first time in so long? It was hard to accept at first, but then he saw something that told him different. What to most, might have been random scratches in the stonework, had caught his eyes, as to him, he knew it as a very old language from a very dead people. One that told him just what this was.

The Sepulcher of another like him, a demon general, that those people once worshipped like a god. It was a name he didn't know, but he felt a great hope welling in his cold heart. For a tomb like this would have to hold the favored possessions of such a demon, and they were his for the taking. He smiled, a deathly look upon one such as he, and stepped down the entrance into the tomb. This was a new start, and the robed bastard, whose stench he knew still walked these plains, would be felled by his hand. Of this, he was certain.


End file.
